Under The Willow
by manyfandomfics
Summary: "See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner." - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games How did the Merchant girl we know as Katniss' mother meet the coal covered love of her life? What happens when her lifelong friend Maysilee Donner is chosen for the Hunger Games and her heart is broken? How did the boy we know as Peeta's father, love h
"Do these look any better?" Mason asked, a hopeful smile on his face. He placed the tray of warm pastries on the counter and waited for Cornelia's approval.

She eyed the blackened pastries with a cautious gaze. Her friend had clearly left them in the oven for too long, but she didn't have the heart to say they looked disgusting.

"I'm sure the goats might enjoy them, if you tip them into their scraps." Her tone was playful as she stacked cartons of milk into the fridge behind the counter. Mason's parents, who owned the dairy shop in the Merchant, had left the two of them in charge for a while.

Before Mason could retort, the doorbell made a gentle chime and a tall boy about their age walked in. Cornelia could tell he was from the Seam from his olive complexion and coal coloured hair. She nodded to him and the boy returned her gesture before disappearing behind an isle. It was quite endearing to tell the truth.

Cornelia noticed Mason was frowning a little, and wondered what the matter was.

"Don't just stand there staring Corrie," He said, using her nickname which was short for Cornelia. "Make yourself useful and- Hey! Get back here!"

Raising an eyebrow, she followed Mason's gaze to see the black haired boy darting out of the shop, a small bulge in the pocket of his coat. Mason jumped over the table and in what seemed like no time at all he was chasing after him. When Cornelia eventually managed to catch up with them, the boy had fallen on the ground and Mason was standing over him.

"You scumbag! I'm sick of your lot!" Mason snapped at the boy, kicking at his face. Cornelia couldn't help but wince. A few people were watching but no one seemed to care that the boy was in pain.

"Mason stop. Just get whatever he's taken and we'll go," She said desperately.

Mason sighed, reluctantly letting his friend pull him up and retrieve a plastic wrapped triangle of cheese. As Cornelia was about to leave with Mason, she noticed that the dark boy had a gash on his forehead. To add to that, his eyes was swelling up.

"I'll catch up later," She told Mason, pressing the cheese into his hand. Before he could question her, Cornelia found herself helping the boy up.

The boy looked at her with a startled expression in his pale grey eyes, his shoulders slumped. Of course he was humiliated, he'd just been beaten up and there was still an audience.

"Come on," She muttered under her breath, carefully taking his hand and gesturing for him to come with her. "My parents own the apothecary, we'll get you sorted out."

Sighing softly, the boy shook his head.

"I'm fine," He insisted, trying to pull away. He stumbled a little, and Cornelia had to steady him.

"Don't be stupid," She said firmly, tugging on his hand until he eventually gave in and walked with her to the apothecary. Once they had arrived, she sat him down and placed one hand on his cheek so she could inspect his face.

"I'm Cornelia by the way."

The boy bit his lip and ran a skinny hand through his hair. There were other bruises dotted around his face, so she had to be careful while dabbing his bleeding forehead with a wet cloth.

"Isaac," She heard him say in a husky tone of voice. Isaac. The name had a calming vibe to it, along with those grey eyes. While the colour was serene, they blinked nervously and his posture was tense.

"I don't bite you know," She said, giving Isaac a reassuring smile. His reply surprised her.

"I don't imagine you will," He said, rolling his eyes jokingly. A small dimple formed under his chin formed as one corner of his mouth curved upwards for a split second. Then, the boy's expression darkened.

"But you could however, turn me in for stealing and have me whipped," Said Isaac in a matter of factually. "You or your friend."

Cornelia shook her head. It didn't take a second glance to know that Isaac was short of food.

"Mason wouldn't be that cruel," She assured him. "And neither would I. But don't steal from us again, otherwise it'll be me beating you up." Flashing a sarcastic smile at him, Cornelia watched as Isaac's pearly eyes crinkled at the corners and he let out a small snicker.

"I'd like to see that," He countered, pressing his fingertips to his forehead where the skin had been torn.

Batting his hands away, Cornelia chuckled.

"Keep putting germs in your cut, and you will," She said firmly, but she was smiling.

Isaac flinched a bit as Cornelia patted a plaster onto the wound.

"You don't have to do that," He said, feeling stupid. "I have to get hunting anyways."

Cornelia raised an eyebrow.

"Hunting? Where do you go manage to do that without getting caught?"

Isaac gave her a secretive smile.

"If you stop fussing over my head, I'll show you sometime."

* A Week Later *

The wind ruffled their hair and the trees above formed a shaded canopy over Cornelia and Isaac's heads. Cornelia took small, careful steps, while Isaac crept along beside her, his well trained feet almost silent in his hunting boots.

"How the hell does no one find out about this?"

"Well to start with, I don't talk half as much as you do."

"What a cheek," Cornelia gasped, pretending to be angered at his comment, but of course she knew he was only teasing. In the past week, the two had become good friends.

While Isaac hunted, Cornelia helped out by gathering fruit and other edible vegetation, even managing to catch some fish. She wasn't too fond of hunting herself.

"Cornelia, look what I caught," Isaac said in a soft voice so as not to scare off future prey. He stood a few feet away from her, leaning against a willow tree.

It looked rather bewitching, with its long, slender branches hanging down like curtains and creating a private dome just for them. Sunlight shone through gaps in its leaves, illuminating the shaded ground beneath their feet. It was the most beautiful tree Cornelia had ever seen.

He held his bow and arrow under one arm, and the other supported a game bag filled with a few squirrels and some healthy looking birds. They were all shot in the eye.

"You know you can just call me Corrie," She said, smiling in approval as she looked inside the game bag.

Isaac shrugged.

"Cornelia's a more interesting name," He explained. "And an interesting girl deserves an interesting name."

Cornelia smiled warmly, flattered. She was going to thank him, when another idea came to mind. It was more of an impulse than an idea, but nevertheless she pressed her lips to his.

It was a soft, sweet kiss that made Cornelia's cheeks flush. When he dropped his bow and rested his hand on her cheek, her skin felt as though she'd just sat down in front on a fireplace after being outside on a bitter morning. His lips were chapped but they tasted of juice from the strawberries she'd gathered for their breakfast. For a moment she was in her own world with him, before reality seized her back.

Isaac had reluctantly pulled away from her, gazing up at the sun which had risen to its highest point in the sky.

"Better be getting back now," He pointed out. "You told your parents you'd be back for lunch." She'd also told them she was going to the dairy shop with Mason, but he didn't have to know that.

As they walked back to the fence of district twelve, their fingers interlocked, she realised that they were having such a pleasant time, she'd almost forgotten about the following day.

"Isaac?" Cornelia asked him apprehensively, fiddling with a loose piece of string on the strawberry bag.

"How many times is your name in tomorrow?" Isaac lived in the orphanage of twelve, so there was no doubt he would've taken tesserae.

With a rueful smile, Isaac rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure you want to know? My name's in extra for three other kids and myself."

Cornelia felt her chest tighten. Isaac was seventeen, so if he was on tesserae for himself and three others it meant that his name was in twenty four times. They weren't the worst odds, but she wondered how he couldn't despise her when her's were so slim in comparison.

"Do you want to walk there with me?" She asked, since he was mostly friends with people who were older than him so he wouldn't have anyone to stand with at the section for sixteen year olds. Besides, she wanted an excuse to see him.

Isaac nodded, and offered to meet her at the apothecary the next morning.

"Alright, I'll see you," Cornelia said, handing him the bag of strawberries they'd hadn't eaten at breakfast.

"Thanks for helping," He replied, an uneasy smile on his face. After a close embrace, Cornelia parted ways with him and began to walk home.

Dreadful scenarios played out in her head about the next day. Tomorrow would be the only day a year when the entire district were united in fear, shared the same sorrow and dreamed the same nightmares.

Reaping Day.


End file.
